01 
C\J 
0) 


One  Hundred  and  Seventy-fifth 


ANNIVERSARY 


OF    THE  I  ^ 


incorporation      ,  y^l'^ 


OF   the 


REDWOOD    LIBRARY 


NEWPORT,  R.  I. 
SEPTEMBER   FOURTH,    NINETEEN  TWENTY-TWO 


IMPORTANT   DATES 
IN   THE   HISTORY   OF  THE   LIBRARY 


1730 — Philosophical   Society   organized. 

1747 — Abraham  Redwood's  gilt  of  £500. 

1747 — Incorporation  of  the  Library. 

1748— Henry  Collins'  gift  of  land. 

1750 — First  building  completed. 

1756 — Ezra  Stiles  became  librarian. 

1776 — British  Othcers  took  possession. 

1780 — General  Assembly  of  the  State  convened  in  Library 
building. 

1785 — Library  re-opened. 

1790 — New  Charter  granted. 

1810 — James  Ogilvie  re-awakened  interest  in  the  Library. 

1833 — Name  changed  to  Redwood  Library  and  Athenaeum. 

1847 — Centennial  celebrated. 

1859 — Reading  Room  added. 

1875 — Present  Delivery  Room  added. 

1878 — Corporate  Seal  adopted. 

1903 — First  women  directors  elected. 

1913 — Perry  Stack  Room  completed. 

1914 — Marquand  Delivery  Room  opened. 


590644 


2V  i'l 


COLONY  OF  RHODE  ISLAND.  ETC. 

By  the  Honorable  the  GOVERNOR  AND  COMPANY  of  the  English 
Colony  of  Rhode  Island  and  Providence  Plantations,  in  New 
England  in  America,  in  General  Assembly  met  at  Newport,  within 
and  for  the  Colony  aforesaid,  on  the  third  Tuesday  in  August,  one 
thousand  seven  hundred  and  forty-seven: 

To  all  to  whom  these  presents  shall  come,  GREETING. 

Whereas,  ABRAHAM  REDWOOD,  Esquire,  hath  generously  engaged 
to  bestow  five  hundred  pounds  sterling,  to  be  laid  out  in  a  collection  of 
useful  books  suitable  for  a  Public  Library  proposed  to  be  erected  in  New- 
port, aforesaid,  and,  having  nothing  in  view  but  the  good  of  mankind, 
has  chosen  to  make  his  donation  as  lasting  and  diffusive  as  possible; 
to  which  end,  James  Honyman  and  others  have  been  invited  to  join  him, 
and,  so  far  as  in  them  lies,  to  form  a  Society,  or  Company,  for  the  prop- 
agating virtue,  knowledge,  and  useful  learning;  which  they  have  accord- 
ingly done,  etc.:  whereupon  the  said  Society  have  made  application  to 
this  Assembly  for  a  charter  of  incorporation,  who,  highly  approving  of 
so  noble  and  generous  design,  and  being  willing  and  desirous  to  give 
all  the  assistance  and  encouragement  which  it  justly  merits,  have  given, 
and  by  these  presents  the  said  Governor  and  Company  do,  for  themselves 
and  their  successors,  give  and  grant,  that  the  said  Abraham  Redwood, 
James  Honyman,  and  others,  and  all  others  that  shall  be  by  them  admit- 
ted members  of  their  Company  be,  and  they  are,  hereby  constituted, 
erected,  and  made  a  body  politic  and  corporate,  to  subsist,  at  all  time; 
for  ever  hereafter,  in  deed  and  name,  by  the  name  of  THE  COMPANY 
OF  THE  REDWOOD  LIBRARY;  and,  by  the  same  name,  shall  and  may 
have  perpetual  succession,  and  be  personable  and  taxable  in  law;  to  have, 
hold,  receive,  and  enjoy  lands,  tenements,  rents,  liberties,  franchises,  and 
h-ereditaments,  in  fee-simple,  or  for  term  of  life,  lives,  years,  or  otherwise; 
and  also  goods,  chattels,  and  other  things,  of  what  nature,  kind,  or 
quality  soever;  and  also  to  give,  grant,  let,  sell,  or  assign  the  same 
lands,  tenements,  hereditaments,  goods,  and  chattels;  and  to  do  and 
execute  all  other  things  about  the  same  by  the  name  aforesaid.  *  *  * 
*  *  *  And  now,  and  that  the  intent  hereof  may  prove  more  effect- 
ual, and  inflame  the  worthy  zeal  of  the  Company,  GIDEON  WANTON, 
Esq.,  Governor  and  Commander-in-Chief  in  and  over  the  Colony  afore- 
said, doth,  by  the  direction  of  the  said  Assembly,  subscribe  his  name, 
and  cause  the  seal  of  the  said  Colony  to  be  affixed  hereunto,  the  twenty- 
fourth  day  of  August,*  in  the  twenty-fouith  year  of  the  reign  of  his  most 
sacred  Majesty  GEORGE  THE  SECOND,  by  the  grace  of  God,  King  of 
Great  Britain,  France,  and  Ireland,  Defender  of  the  Faith,  etc. 

(Signed)  GIDEON  WANTON. 

(Sealed  with  the  Seal  of  the  Colony.) 

By  order  of  his  Honor  the  Governor, 

(Signed)  THOMAS  WARD.   Secretary. 

•Old  Style;  Sept.  4— New  Style. 


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DEED  OF  LIBRARY   LOT 

This  Indenture,  made  the  ninth  day  of  June  in  the  twenty-first  year 
of  the  Reign  of  his  most  sacred  Majesty  George  the  Second,  by  the 
grace  of  God  of  Great  Britain,  France,  and  Ireland,  King,  Defender  of 
the  Faith:  And  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  seven  hundred 
and  forty-eight.  Between  Henry  Collins,  of  Newport,  in  the  County  of 
Newport,  in  the  Colony  of  Rhode  Island  and  Pi'ovidence  Plantations,  in 
New  England,  in  America,  Merchant,  of  the  one  part,  and  Abraham 
Redwood,  of  the  same  Newport,  Esqr.,  of  the  other  part,  Witnesseth  that. 
Whereas  the  Hon'ble  the  Governor  and  Company  of  the  Colony  aforesaid 
being  in  General  Assembly,  met  at  Newport  on  the  third  Tuesday  in 
August  last  were  graciously  pleased  to  make  and  pass  an  Act  whereby 
a  number  of  Gentlemen  therein  named,  and  all  others  that  should  after- 
wards be  by  them  admitted  members  of  their  Company,  were  constituted, 
created  and  made  a  Body  Politic  and  corporate  to  subsist  at  all  times  for- 
ever thereafter,  in  Deed  and  Name  by  the  name  of  THE  COMPANY  OF 
THE  REDWOOD  LIBRARY  *  *  *  Now  the  aforesaid  Henry  Collins, 
one  of  the  members  of  the  said  incorporated  Company,  animated  with 
zeal  to  carry  the  laudable  design  of  the  aforesaid  Mr.  Redwood  the 
Founder,  into  execution,  and  for  divers  other  good  causes  and  considera- 
tions, him  hereunto  moving,  as  also  for  and  in  consideration  of  the  sum 
of  Five  shillings  lawful  money  of  New  England  to  him  in  hand  paid,  by 
the  said  Abraham  Redwood,  the  receipt  whereof  to  full  content  and  satis- 
faction is  hereby  acknowledged.  Hath  Given,  granted,  bargained,  sold, 
aliened,  enfeoffed,  conveyed  and  confirmed,  and  by  these  presents  Doth 
Give  &c.  *  *  A  certain  piece  or  parcel  of  land,  (being  great  part  of  the 
lot  formerly  called  the  Bowling  Green)  lying  and  being  in  Newport 
aforesaid,  measuring  in  front  one  hundred  and  forty  feet  and  back  or  in 
depth  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  be  the  same  more  or  less.  Bounded 
westerly  on  a  Street  or  Highway,  Northerly  on  land  of  John  Easton, 
Easterly  of  land  of  Nicholas  Easton,  and  Southerly  of  land  of  Jahleel 
Brenton.  ******  To  the  only  use  benefit  and  behoof  of  the 
aforesaid  company  of  the  Redwood  Library,  their  heirs  and  assigns  for- 
ever, And  to  no  other  use,  intent  or  purpose  whatsoever  *  *  *  * 
*  *  *  *  In  Witness  whereof  he  the  said  Henry  Collins  hath  hereunto 
set  his  hand  and  seal,  the  day  and  year  first  above  written. 

HENRY  COLLINS.     (Seal) 
Sealed  and  delivered  in 
the  presence  of 

SAMUEL  ENGS. 
GIDION  SISSON. 

9 


CONTRACT 

Erection  of  Library  iBuilding 

ARTICLES  OF  AGREEMENT  Indented  made  and  concluded  upon 
the  ninth  day  of  August  in  the  twenty-second  year  of  his  Majesty's  Reign, 
George  the  second,  King  of  Great  Britain,  &c.  Anno  Dominie  One  Thou- 
sand seven  hundred  and  forty-eight.  BETWEEN  Wing  Spooner,  Samuel 
Green,  Thomas  Melvil  and  Israel  Chapman,  all  of  Newport,  in  the  County 
of  Newport  and  Colony  of  Rhode  Island,  House  Carpenters,  of  the  one 
part,  AND  Samuel  Wickham,  Esq.,  Henry  Collins  and  John  Tillinghast, 
Merchant,  all  of  Newport,  aforesaid,  Three  of  the  Directors  of  the  Red- 
wood Library  in  Newport,  aforesaid,  of  the  other  part:  WITNESS,  That 
the  said  Wmg  Spooner,  Samuel  Green,  Thomas  Melvil  and  Israel  Chap- 
man, Do  hereby  Covenant,  Promise  and  Engage  to  Erect  and  build  in 
Newport,  aforesaid,  on  the  Lott  of  Land  given  by  said  Henry  Collins 
for  that  purpose,  a  house  or  building  to  be  called  the  Redwood  Library, 
suitable  and  convenient  for  depositing  therein  a  large  number  of  books 
given  by  Abraham  Redwood,  Esq.,  for  Public  use;  That  is  to  say,  to  do 
and  perform  all  the  Carpenters  and  House  joyners  Work  in  and  about 
said  House  of  the  following  Dimensions  and  in  the  manner  hereinafter 
express'd.  Viz:  The  large  Room  to  be  thirty-seven  foot  long,  and  twenty- 
six  foot  broad  in  the  inside,  and  nineteen  foot  high.  At  the  west  End 
(which  is  the  Principal  Front)  is  to  be  a  Portico  of  four  Columns  accord- 
ing to  the  Dorick  Order,  with  a  Pediment  over  it,  with  Pilasters  to  suit 
the  Columns.  The  Projection  of  the  Portico  from  the  Outside  of  the 
Building  to  be  about  nine  foot,  and  the  Roof  to  be  continued  out  so  much 
as  to  form  the  Pediment :  The  length  of  the  Columns  to  be  about 
seventeen  foot  including  Base  and  Capital,  and  the  thickness  of  twenty- 
six  inches  just  above  the  Base ;  The  Building  to  be  fram'd  Brac'd  and 
Studded  the  outside  and  Roof  to  be  boarded  with  Feather  edg'd  Boards, 
the  Shingles  to  be  shav'd  and  joynted  and  to  be  laid:  The  outside  to  be 
covered  with  Pine  Plank  worked  in  Imitation  of  Rustick,  and  to  have  a 
Dorick  Entablature  with  Triglipphs  &c.  continued  from  the  Portico  quite 
Round  the  Building  and  to  have  a  Plain  Pediment  at  the  East  End.  At 
the  West  end  next  to  the  Portico,  to  be  two  small  Wings  or  Outshots  for 
two  Little  Rooms  or  offices,  one  on  each  side  and  both  alike  in  form  and 
Bigness,  each  to  be  about  twelve  foot  square  and  (with  a  small  Break  or 
Recess)  to  Range  in  a  line  Parallel  to  the  West  End  of  the  Building  or 
inner  part  of  the  Portico.  **=..***  j^ie  Sides  and  Ends  of 
the  Great  Room  within  to  be  furr'd  out  even  with  the  Posts,  and  the 
ceiling  to  be  furr'd  out  with  a  small  Cove  next  the  Walls  about  two  foot 
Downwards  at  the  Bottom  of  which  over  the  Attick  Windows  an  lonick 
Cornice  to  run  quite  round:  To  be  wainscotted  about  five  foot  high  from 
the  floor  quite  round  the  great  Room;  The  Jambs  of  the  Windows  to 
be  wainscotted  with  Architraves  round  and  Seats  in  the  lower  Windows. 
*  *  About  four  foot  from  the  Walls  or  Sides  of  the  Great  Room  must 
be  a  sort  of  Partition  erected  about  ten  feet  high,  with  openings  over 
against  each  window,  on  both  Sides  of  which  must  be  placed  Shelves  for 


the  Books;  there  must  also  be  five  or  six  Desks  for  laying  the  Books 
on  in  convenient  Places,  and  the  whole  to  be  finished  and  compleated  well 
and  workmanlike  according  to  a  Plan  or  Draught  drawn  by  Mr.  Joseph 
Harrison,  and  agreed  on  for  that  Purpose,  On  or  before  the  last  day  of 
October,  which  will  be  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  One  Thousand  Seven 
Hundred  and  forty-nine.  For  and  in  CONSIDERATION  whereof  the 
said  Samuel  Wickham.  Heniy  Collins  and  John  Tillinghast,  Do  hereby 
Covenant,  Promise  and  Engage  to  pay  or  cause  to  be  paid  to  the  sd. 
Wing  Spooner,  Samuel  Green,  Thomas  Melvil  and  Israel  Chapman  for 
sd.  Work  the  Sum  of  two  Thousand  and  two  Hundred  pounds  in  good 
and  passable  Bills  of  Publick  Credit  of  sd.  Colony,  old  Tenor.  *  *  *  =? 
IN  WITNESS  whereof,  the  Parties  to  these  presents  have  hereunto 
interchangeably  Set  their  hands  and  Seals  the  Day  and  year  first  above 
written. 

Sign'd  Seal'd  and  Deliver'd 
in  the  presence  of 

ARTICLES 
For  Building  the  Library 

MEMORANDUM:  That  the  Parties  to  the  within  written  Articles 
of  Agreement,  notwithstanding  what  is  therein  written.  Do  hereby 
agree  to  the  following  alterations  in  that  building  therein  mentioned 
upon  the  same  penalty  as  within,  viz.,  that  the  four  Pilasters  in  the 
front  of  the  House,  all  the  windows  in  the  North  and  South  West  of  said 
House;  the  staircase  and  Partitions  within  side,  the  Venitian  Window 
in  the  East  End,  and  the  wainscot  on  the  north  and  south  Side  within 
the  House,  as  far  as  the  Shelves  extend,  be  all  omitted,  and  that  instead 
of  the  Venitian  Window  in  the  East  end,  there  be  three  small  Windows, 
that  the  Shelves  for  the  Books  be  placed  against  the  Walls  of  the  Build- 
ing, that  there  be  a  stair  case  at  the  west  end  of  sd  House,  the  Ceiling 
of  the  Portico  to  have  a  cornice  and  that  the  Planshear  and  Entabla- 
ture and  all  other  Parts  of  said  Building  be  finished  and  compleated 
well  and  workmanlike  agreeable  to  a  Plan  or  Draught  drawn  by  Mr. 
Peter  Harrison.  *  *  *  *  'Yhe  within  named  Saml  Wickham,  Henry 
Collins  and  John  Tillinghast  Do  hereby  Oblige  themselves  to  pay  to  the 
within-named  Wing  Spooner,  Samuel  Green,  Thomas  Melvil  and  Israel 
Chapman  the  Sum  of  One  Hundred  pounds  old  Tenor,  over  and  above  the 
two  Thousand  two  hundred  pounds  within  mentioned. 

•  In  Witness  whereof  the  Parties  to  these  Presents  have  interchangea- 
bly set  their  hands  and  seals  the  Sixth  Day  of  February  in  the  twenty- 
second  year  of  his  Majty's  Reign  Anno  Dominie  1748. 

SAMUEL    WICKHAM. 
HENRY    COLLINS 
JOHN   TILLINGHAST. 
Sign'd  Seal'd  and  Deliver'd 
in  the  presence  of 

SAMUEL   ENGS, 
GIDEON  SISSON. 


cHlip  Prraibrnt  nnh  itr^rtara 
Ollir  il^^^tnnJi  Kjtbrarii  <xxih  Atlipnantm 

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fxprrtara  in  rrlr brattan  of  tlj? 

(inr  l^unbrrli  nnh  i>rupntg-ftftl) 
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tu  be  I)rlb  in  tl^e  iBitilbing  mt  iBrllrbup  Aufuup 
anb  ISpMuaob  S'trrrt 

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(lIt|F  jprPBtft^nt  of  (ill|f  2itbrary 

will  rraii  a  aliort  akrtrli  of  ita  Ijiatnrg 
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Spar  A&miral  HitUtam  g».  ^tms.  H.  B.  Naoal  Bar  (EoUcge 

anb  bg 

Artl|ur  IE.  lostuiirh.  JPi).  19..  of  ^t.  SJouia 


Ipaar  fill  nut  aub  rrturn  tl)r  purlnarb  rarb. 


Dr.  and  Mrs.  Roderick  Terry 

General  and  Mrs.  J.  Fred  Pierson 

Mr.  Alfred  G.  Langley 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Edward  A.  Sherman 

The  Hon.  and  Mrs.  Darius  Baker 

Mrs.  Harold  Brown 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  William  P.  Buffum 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  George  F.  Cozzens 

Miss  Lucile  R.  Edgar 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Charles  C.  Gardner 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lawrence  Lewis  Gillespie 

Dr.  and  Mrs.  Henry  Barton  Jacobs 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  William  P.  Sheffield 

Dr.  and  Mrs.  William  S.  Sherman 

Miss  Agnes  C.  Storer 

Mr.  Frank  K.  Sturgis 


Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hamilton  Fish  Webster 

Col.  and  Mrs.  Joseph  Willard 

Mr.  George  L.  Hinckley 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Arthur  Curtiss  James 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lewis  Cass  Ledyard 

Miss  Rosa  Anne  Grosvenor 

Miss  Ellen  F.  Mason 

Dr.  and  Mrs.  Alexander  H.  Rice 

Mrs.  Hugh  D.  Auchincloss 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  William  Gammell 

Mr.  John  Nicholas  Brown 

Mrs.  Vanderbilt 

Dr.  and  Mrs.  William  C.  Rives 

Miss  Anna  F.  Hunter 

Mrs.  J.  Peace  Vernon 

Miss  Mary  E.  Powel 


Ex-Governor  R.  Livingston  Beeckman 

Ex-  Governor  and  Mrs.  Charles  S.  Whitman 

Mayor  and  Mrs.  J.  P.  Mahoney 

Judge  and  Mrs.  Hugh  Baker 

Judge  and  Mrs.  Max  Levy 

Rear  Admiral  and  Mrs.  William  S.  Sims 

Captain  and  Mrs.  T.  J.  Senn 

Captain  and  Mrs.  Franck  Taylor  Evans 

Col.  and  Mrs.  William  R.  Doores 

Mr.  and  Mrs-  John  Elliott 

Mr.  Stephen  P.  Cabot 

Dr.  and  Mrs.  Charles  A.  Bracketf 


13 


D"  RODERICK   TERR^^ 

REQUESTS    THE    PLEASURE    OF    YOUR    COMPANY 

AT  DINNER 

AT    THE    CASINO    GRILL    ROOMS 

MONDAY,   SEPTEMBER  4^",  AT   T.30   P.  M. 

TO    MEET    THE    COMMITTEE    ON    THE 
REL»V001J     LIBRARY      CELEBRATION 

It     s,    V.   p. 


s^  THE    I75T«      ^  ^ 

^     ANNIVERSARY       •" 

OF    THE     FOUNDING    Of 

■.  THE    ■    '" 

REDWOOD  LIBRARY 
ATHENAEUM 


EXERCISES 


AT  THE 


Celebration  of   the  175th  Anniversary 

of 
The  Redwood  Library 


LITERARY    EXERCISES 

HELD  IN  THE  LIBRARY   BUILDING 

AT  FOUR  P.  M. 


In  the  evening  the  General  Committee  and  few  other  friends  of 
the  Library  to  the  number  of  48,  were  entertained  at  dinner  in  the 
Newport  Casino  by  the  President.  Short  congratulatory  addresses 
were  made  by  the  Reverend  William  Safford  Jones,  Judge  Darius 
Baker,  Dr.  Charles  A.  Brackett,  Judge  Max  Levy,  and  Mr.  Stephen 
P.  Cabot  of  St.  George's  School. 


THE  REDWOOD  LIBRARY 


ADDRESS 

BY 

Dr.  RODERICK   TERRY,  President 


"The  generous  Abraham  Redwood,  Esq.,  of  Newport, 
on  Rhode  Island,  sensible  of  the  distinguished  favour 
whereby  Heaven  had  blessed  him  with  an  ample  fortune, 
proposed  to  acknowledge  it  by  a  design  which  could  be 
only  the  effect  of  a  grateful  mind,  the  improving  the  place 
of  his  residence  in  knowledge  and  virtue.  To  accomplish 
this  happy  end,  he  freely  and  without  a  prompter,  de- 
voted and  paid  down  500  pounds  Sterling  for  purchas- 
ing a  Library  of  all  arts  and  sciences,  put  under  the 
most  pi^udent  limitation  and  restriction,  whereunto  the 
curious  and  impatient  inquirer  after  resolution  of  doubts, 
and  the  bewildered  ignorant  might  freely  repair  for  dis- 
covery and  demonstration  to  the  one,  and  true  knowledge 
and  satisfaction  to  the  other.  Now  to  conduct  this  design 
to  the  best  advantage,  he  proposed  to  form  a  Company  of 
some  of  the  best  repute  and  character  who  might  join  in 
consultation  upon  the  most  suitable  method  to  bring  so 
important  a  project  to  a  happy  issue." 

In  these  sincere  if  somewhat  grandiloquent  words  the 
first  Board  of  Directors  of  this  Library  expressed  their 
opinion  of  its  founder,  their  friend  and  fellow-townsman, 
and  of  their  hopes  for  the  future  of  the  Library  which  they 
then  established. 

17 


Mr.  Redwood  was  a  Quaker,  a  man  of  large  means, 
which  he  had  acquired,  as  we  are  infornicti,  like  so  many 
of  his  fellow-townsmen  by  the  importation  of  sugar,  mo- 
lasses, and  slaves,  and  by  the  exportation  of  rum.  Whether, 
like  so  many  of  that  time,  he  had  any  financial  interest  in 
Privateering,  I  have  no  means  of  knowing.  What  is  well 
established  is  his  high  standing  in  the  community,  the 
result  of  honest  dealing  and  wise  charity.  Five  hundred 
pounds  Sterling  was  a  large  sum  in  those  days.  With 
Mr.  Redwood  were  associated  some  of  the  leading  men 
in  Newport,  and  of  the  finest  in  the  Colonies.  Mr. 
Henry  Collins,  who  gave  the  land  for  this  building,  was  a 
wealthy  merchant;  who  had  finished  his  education  in  Eng- 
land; he  w^as  a  lover  of  literature  and  the  fine  arts,  which 
he  was  so  enthusiastic  in  promoting  that  he  was  called  the 
"Lorenzo  de  Medici  of  Rhode  Island."  Noted  clergymen, 
lawyers,  physicians  and  merchants  of  the  time  composed 
the  rest  of  the  first  Board  of  Directors. 

In  1723  Benjamin  Franklin  turned  his  back  upon 
Boston,  then  the  leading  city  of  the  Colonies  in  literature 
and  the  arts,  and  pausing  for  a  short  time  in  New  York, 
finally  carried  with  him  and  brought  into  the  life  of  Phila- 
delphia his  enthusiasm  for  science  and  education.  A  sad 
loss  for  Boston,  and  to  Philadelphia  the  gain  of  a  remark- 
able life  and  intellectual  spirit.  His  influence  was  ap- 
parent within  a  few  years  of  his  arrival  by  the  forma- 
tion of  a  Debating  Society  which  was  called  "The  Junto" 
and  later  the  "American  Philosophical  Society,"  out  of 
which  grew  the  establishment  of  what  Franklin  called 
"The  Mother  of  all  the  North  American  subscription 
libraries,"  whose  life  began  in  the  year  1732  by  the  recep- 
tion of  a  small  number  of  books  from  London. 

In  the  meantime  in  1730  there  had  been  organized  in 
this  city  of  Newport  a  similar  club  called  The  "Philosoph- 
ical Society."  As  Franklin  inspired  the  Philadelphia  Com- 
pany so  Dean  Berkeley  seems  to  have  been  the  leading  spirit 
in  the  life  of  this  at  Newport.  Not  so  soon  after  its  organi- 
zation but  in  a  similar  manner  to  that  of  the  Philosophical 

18 


Society  of  Philadelphia  this  institution  at  Newport  developed 
into  a  subscription  Library,  the  celebration  of  the  175th  anni- 
versary of  whose  organization  we  celebrate  today. 

In  1747,  libraries  were  few  in  our  Colonies.  The  earliest 
to  be  formed  were  those  associated  with  colleges;  Harvard 
in  1638,  College  of  William  and  Mary  in  Virginia  in  1693, 
Yale  College  in  1701,  Princeton  College  in  1746;  and  perhaps 
mention  should  be  made  of  a  Library  which  in  1621  existed 
at  Jamestown,  Virginia,  in  the  form  of  a  collection  of  a  few 
books.  Which  collection  had  but  a  short  time  to  live,  it 
having  been  extinguished  the  next  year,  in  1622,  when  the 
savages  destroyed  this  first  English  settlement  on  the  James. 
When  the  Redwood  Library  was  organized  there  were 
certainly  at  least  two  other  similar  libraries  in  existence, 
both  in  Philadelphia.  That  one  founded  by  Franklin,  and  the 
Philosophical  Club  in  1732,  called  The  "Library  Company 
of  Philadelphia"  already  referred  to,  and  The  "Loganian 
Library"  originally  the  private  library  of  James  Logan,  for 
which  he  erected  in  1745  a  special  building  and  opened  it 
to  the  use  of  the  public.  There  were  then  no  libraries  in 
Boston,  New  York,  or  any  other  city  of  the  Colonies. 

No  sooner  had  the  first  Board  of  Directors  of  this 
Library  been  appointed  than  they  began  to  plan  for  a  build- 
ing. Two  years  after  the  Loganian  Library  of  Philadelphia 
had  erected  the  first  edifice  in  the  Colonies  designed  for  the 
exclusive  use  of  a  Library,  £5000,  later  increased  to  £6200 
in  the  currency  of  the  Colony_were  subscribed  in  New- 
port for  a  building  which  in(j_70Q^was  completed,  the  sec-  ^i-fj^rt 
ond  to  be  built  in  the  country,  and  the  oldest  now  in  use. 
The  building  thus  erected  still  stands;  the  west  por- 
tion of  the  present  series  of  rooms  of  which  our  edifice  is 
now  cpmposed.  Of  the  beauty  of  this  first  building,  designed 
by  Peter  Harrison,  an  architect  who  had  come  from  England, 
it  is  not  necessary  to  speak.  It  has  been  always  greatly  ad- 
mired. With  its  Grecian  form  and  its  pure  Doric  columns, 
it  stands  to  this  day  a  notable  example  of  the  best  architec-  {,^^JXlJL^^ 
ture  of  Colonial  times. 

19 


\M^\X. 


And  what  of  the  City  of  Newport  at  that  period? 
In  size  it  covered  only  the  region  known  as  the  Point,  the 
streets  west  of  lower  Broadway,  and  Thames  Street  as  far 
as  Franklin.  Beyond  these  boundaries  there  were  scattered 
houses,  especially  on  lower  Thames  and  Spring  Streets,  and 
the  lanes  leading  up  the  hill.  Kay  Street  was  a  rope  walk, 
and  the  site  of  this  building  well  out  of  town.  The  inhabi- 
tants were  not  behind  those  of  any  city  of  the  country  in 
intelligence,  wealth  and  culture.  Several  accounts  of  edu- 
cated visitors  to  Pre-Revolutionary  Newport  are  available 
and  abound  in  praise  of  the  literary  cultivation,  and  luxu- 
rious living  of  the  citizens,  as  well  as  of  their  free  hospi- 
tality; and  not  one  fails  to  remark  upon  the  charm  ana 
attractiveness  of  the  women. 

The  peaceful  flow  of  social  and  commercial  life  which 
thus  made  Newport  in  many  ways  the  leading  city  of  the 
Colonies  was  rudely  interrupted  and  brought  to  an  end 
when  the  British  took  possession  of  the  city  during  the  Rev- 
olution. The  better  class  and,  indeed,  most  of  the  popula- 
tion fled  in  dismay,  while  the  enemy  made  thcmeslves  pos- 
sessors of  the  houses  of  Newport  with  their  contents.  This 
Library  did  not  escape;  having  had  alas  an  experience  en- 
tirely different  from  those  of  the  libraries  of  New  York  and 
Philadelphia.  For  in  those  cities  the  books  were  guarded 
carefully,  and  made  use  of  by  the  intellectually  inclined 
among  the  ofhcers  of  the  British  armies  of  occupation,  while 
this  building  in  Newport  seems  to  have  been  occupied  in  a 
sense  as  a  club  room;  and  if  stories  which  have  come  down 
to  us  are  true,  the  books  from  the  stacks  were  made  use  of 
to  light  fires,  and  many  were  taken  away  never  to  be  re- 
turned. It  is  said  that  before  the  end  of  their  occupancy  of 
Newport  the  otlicer  in  command  placed  a  guard  at  the  door 
of  this  building  to  prevent  further  depredations,  but  great 
injury  had  already  been  done. 

When  the  disheartened  citizens  returned  after  the 
English  had  left  they  had  little  interest  in  intellectual  pur- 
suits, the  restoring  of  their  homes  and  the  building  up 
again  of  what  trade  could  be  commanded  occupied  all  their 

20 


time.  Nothing  seems  therefore  to  have  been  done  to  improve 
this  building  and  its  contents  for  many  years. 

Over  1516  volumes  are  said  to  have  been  in  the  Library 
at  the  beginning  of  the  Revolution.  How  many  remained 
at  its  close  we  havcuio  definite  means  of  knowing,  but  there 
is  reason  to  believe  that  one-half  had  disappeared. 

The  Library  then  drifted  along  with  occasional  weak 
efforts  on  the  part  of  the  Directors  towards  resuscitation,  as 
for  instance  when  in  1790  the  following  appeared  in  the  New- 
port Herald,  "The  key  of  the  Library  being  missing,  supposed 
to  be  lent  by  the  former  Librarian,  the  person  who  has  it  in 
his  possession  is  earnestly  requested  to  deliver  it  to  Mr.  Ste- 
phen Ayrault,  one  of  the  Directors."  A  letter  also  appeared 
about  the  same  time  in  the  Herald,  signed  "A  Proprietor," 
who  writes,  "To  suffer  that  beautiful  edifice,  which  was  once 
an  ornament  and  a  credit  to  the  town  ...  to  be  totally 
neglected  and  mouldering  into  ruin  for  the  want  of  a  small 
sum  of  money,  perhaps  one  or  two  hundred  dollars,  laid  out 
in  repairs  upon  it,  is  such  a  reproach  to  the  proprietors,  such 
an  indignity  to  literature,  that  as  one  of  them,  I  feel  hurt  and 
ashamed.  A  small  sum  judiciously  appropriated  at  the 
present  moment  may  save  a  much  larger  outlay  next  season; 
whereas  should  it  remain  neglected  only  one  winter  more, 
the  elegant  and  well-proportioned  pillars  which  support  and 
adorn  the  front  of  the  building  will  be  past  repair  and 
tumble  to  the  ground,  and  never  can  be  replaced  without  a 
very  great  expense;  the  books  exposed  to  the  weather 
through  a  leaky  roof  and  broken  windows,  will  also  grow 
moldy  and  soon  be  rendered  useless."  The  dismal  condition 
of  the  Library  and  the  lack  of  interest  in  its  welfare  arc* 
suggested  by  a  remark  of  the  late  Reverend  Dr.  William 
Ellery  Channing,  in  an  address  delivered  at  Newport  in 
1843,  speaking  of  his  youth,  he  said,  "I  had  no  professor  or 
teacher  to  guide  me  but  I  had  two  noble  places  of  study. 
One  was  yonder  beautiful  edifice  now  so  frequented  and 
useful  as  a  public  library,  then  so  deserted  that  1  spent  day 
after  day,  and  sometimes  week  after  week  amidst  its  dusty 
volumes  without  interruption  from  a  single  visitor." 

21 


In  1810  one  of  the  periodical  awakenings  of  the  Institu- 
tion occurred,  a  true  friend  having  arisen,  Mr.  James  Ogil- 
vie,  who  donated  a  considerable  number  of  volumes.  Others 
were  added  from  time  to  time  and  although  there  was  no 
great  enthusiasm  there  was  continued  increase,  both  in  the 
number  of  books  and  in  their  use.  The  records  of  tlie  Library 
also  began  to  be  regularly  kept  and  we  are  able  to  follow 
its  history. 

In  1847,  occurred  the  centennary  of  the  organization  of 
the  Library.  Considerable  interest  was  aroused,  an  address 
was  delivered  by  the  Hon.  William  Hunter,  and  Newport 
awoke  to  the  fact  that  the  Institution  was  something  of 
which  it  might  well  be  proud;  and  by  1855,  the 
lethargic  conditions  had  been  so  thoroughly  dispelled  that 
it  was  decided  to  make  an  effort  to  "Place  the  Library  on  a 
more  useful,  popular  and  substantial  basis."  The  result  of 
which  was  the  erection  of  the  present  reading  room,  the 
raising  of  considerable  money,  and  the  increasing  largely 
the  number  of  books. 

From  that  time  until  the  present  the  Library  has  pro- 
gressed with  varying  degrees  of  enthusiasm.  In  1875,  a 
further  extension  of  the  building  was  completed,  and  the 
large  room  now  known  as  the  Marquand  Delivery  Room, 
was  added  at  an  expense  of  -$30,000  raised  by  subscription. 
And  again  within  the  memory  of  all  of  us,  the  Perry  Room 
was  completed  in  1914;  the  first  part  of  our  building  not 
paid  for  by  subscription,  the  funds  for  its  erection  having 
been  provided  from  a  legacy  of  the  late  Mrs.  Gardner  Blan- 
chard  Perry.  These  four  buildings  distinct  from  one  another, 
and  yet  similar  in  architecture,  make  one  edifice  175  feet 
in  length.  And  while  it  is  unfortunate  that  the  whole  should 
not  have  been  designed  at  the  beginning,  whereby  a  more 
dignified  and  satisfactory  architectural  effect  oould  have 
been  secured,  the  building  as  it  stands  is  not  without  beauty, 
and  the  successive  periods  of  its  erection  lend  interest  as 
they  point  to  its  remarkable  history. 

The  alterations  in  the  interior  of  the  buikling  have  been 
as  numerous  as  in  the  exterior.    The  original  Harrison  Room 

22 


was  sufficient  in  our  infancy  for  all  the  purposes  of  the 
Library.  The  second  addition  was  built  when  it  was  found 
necessary  to  have  a  separate  reading  room.  It  was  soon 
found  that  the  bookcases  on  the  walls  of  these  rooms  were 
insutlicient,  and  first  in  the  Harrison  Room  and  after  that 
in  the  reading  room,  compelled,  we  must  believe  by  the 
necessity  of  the  case,  galleries  were  erected  carrying  the 
shelves  to  the  ceiling.  Upon  this  plea  of  necessity  we  may 
forgive  our  predecessors  for  this  sad  attack  upon  the  artistio 
purity  of  the  rooms;  there  are  times  when  utility  comes 
into  grievous  conflict  with  artistic  beauty.  The  Reading 
Room  has  maintained  its  character  from  the  time  of  its 
erection;  but  the  Marquand  Room  was  used  for  stacking 
books  for  over  thirty  years,  until  the  present  stack  room 
rendered  it  possible  to  make  this  the  Delivery  Room.  Its 
stately  proportions,  and  fine  decorations,  the  work  of  our 
fellow  townsman  and  noted  architect,  Mr.  John  DuFais, 
make  this  one  of  the  most  attractive  rooms  of  its  kind;  while 
the  portraits  of  early  Newporters  and  national  characters 
upon  its  walls,  and  many  pieces  of  statuary,  deserve  and 
obtain  the  admiration  of  all  visitors.  Our  latest  addition, 
the  Perry  Stack  Room,  well  built  and  fireproof,  was  when 
erected  in  1914  expected  to  meet  all  requirements  for  many 
years,  but  it  is  already  almost  full,  and  promises  soon  to  be 
so  crowded  that  a  further  building  will  have  to  be  pro- 
vided. 

In  the  grounds  surrounding  our  buildings  there  are  a 
few  objects  well  deserving  notice.  At  the  annual  meeting  of 
the  Association  in  1843  it  was  voted  "That  trees  be  set  in 
front  of  the  lot,  on  Bellevue  Street."  Mr.  Robert  Johnston 
presented  the  beautiful  and  celebrated  Fern  Leaf  Beech,  now 
for  many  years  one  of  the  sights  of  the  city;  a  source  of 
pride  to  Newporters  and  of  admiration  to  the  stranger  within 
our  gates.  The  beautiful  summer  house,  built  to  adorn  the 
garden  of  Mr.  Redwood,  attached  to  his  house  out  on  the 
Island,  was  brought  to  our  grounds  in  1917,  the  gift  of  Mr. 
Bradford  Norman.  Thoroughly  in  the  style  of  our  first  build- 
ing,  with   which   it   was   contemporaneous,    this   charming 

23 


little  toy  seems  to  have  been  designed  by  our  architect,  Peter 
Harrison,  and  is  fitly  placed  here.  In  1872  Mr.  An- 
drew Robeson  i^resented  to  the  Library  "the  large 
iron  gates,  formerly  in  front  of  the  old  Redwood 
house  on  Thames  Street."  They  were  imported  from  P^ng- 
land  about  the  time  of  the  erection  of  our  first  building. 
We  have  thus  this  interesting  memorial  of  the  city 
house,  as  the  other  of  the  country  seat  of  our  Founder. 
About  1811  our  grounds  were  surrounded  with  a  charm- 
ing wooden  fence,  upon  a  brick  foundation,  it  was  expensive 
and  ornamental;  with  high  gate  posts.  Renewed  in  the  same 
style  in  1858,  and  again  in  1875,  it  was  deemed  wise  at  a 
later  date,  repairs  being  so  often  required,  to  sacrifice 
beauty  to  economy,  and  the  present  commonplace  fence  of 
iron  piping  was  installed  in  1885. 

After  Mr.  Redwood's  original  gift  of  £500,  for  sixty 
years  from  1750  to  1810,  no  money  was  spent  for  the  pur- 
chase of  books.  Gifts  were  made  from  time  to  time,  but  as 
we  have  seen  they  were  offset  by  the  extraction  of  volumes 
in  the  time  of  the  Revolution.  After  1811  there  was  a  gradual 
increase,  but  it  was  slow.  Occasional  announcements  in  the 
newspapers  called  upon  the  members  of  the  Library  to  re- 
turn books  which  they  had  in  their  possession.  Some 
interesting  donations  were  made  during  this  period,  one 
notable  one  from  the  King  of  England,  of  84  volumes,  72  of 
which  were  large  folios.  It  consisted  of  a  set  of  The  Public 
Records  of  England,  which,  unfinished  at  the  time  of  the 
death  of  King  William,  were  completed  a  few  years  later  by 
Queen  Victoria.  The  records  which  we  find  of  the  number  of 
volumes  is  as  follows.  In  1764 — -1516  volumes,  in  1816 — 1492, 
in  184.'^— 4000.  It  was  not  until  1861  that  the  number  of  vol- 
umes had  reached  10  ,000,  after  that  additions  were  more  nu- 
merous. In  1874,  the  20,000  mark  was  passed;  in  1889,  there 
were  over  30,000;  in  1894,  40,000;  in  1905,  50,000;  in  1915, 
60,000,  and  today  we  are  within  a  few  of  70,000.  Our  circu- 
lation has  increased  from  time  to  time  until  today  it  is 
almost  20,000  volumes  a  year.  Our  members  and  subscribers 
number  almost  500. 


24 


The  financial  history  of  the  Library  has  been  exceed- 
ingly interesting.  Starting  with  the  gift  of  £500  Sterling, 
from  Abraham  Redwood,  and  £6200  of  Colony  Currency  for 
the  erection  of  the  building,  over  sixty  years  followed  before 
anything  further  was  received  except  the  annual  dues  and 
fines,  by  which  the  necessary  expenses  were  met.  Small 
amounts  were  later  donated  from  time  to  time,  but  not  until 
the  reawakening  of  enthusiasm  in  1855,  following  the  cele- 
bration of  the  Centennial  of  our  foundation,  did  the  Library 
begin  to  receive  large  and  generous  donations.  Subscrip- 
tions were  then  started  and  the  first  addition  to  the  building 
erected;  and  continually  until  the  present  time  donations  in 
various  amounts  have  been  received.  We,  today,  have 
invested  funds  over  -1^200,000.  Our  income  from  all  sources 
last  year  amounted  to  $12,422.  Our  expenses  were  irl3,837. 
In  order  to  end  the  year  free  of  debt  members  of  the  Board 
of  Directors  donated  -1^1625. 

There  is  one  characteristic  work  of  this  Institution  which 
is  not  found  in  all  libraries  to  which  attention  should  be 
called.  In  the  original  charter,  the  name  was  given  as  "The 
Company  of  the  Redwood  Library"  and  when  the  chartei 
was  amended  in  1856,  this  name  was  changed  to  "The  Com- 
pany of  the  Redwood  Library  and  Athenaeum."  No  reason 
is  given  for  the  addition  but  it  is  obvious,  and  has  been  made 
clear  from  the  history  of  the  Institution  during  the  next  few 
years.  The  Century  Dictionary  defines  the  word  "Athenaeum, ' 
as  having  been  derived  from  the  Temple  of  Athena  and  so 
to  be  properly  given  "to  an  Institution  founded  at  Rome  by 
Hadrian  for  the  promotion  of  literature  and  scientific  studies, 
and  imitated  in  the  provinces.  In  modern  times  an  institu- 
tion for  the  encouragement  of  literature  and  art,  often  pos- 
sessing a  Library  for  the  use  of  those  entitled  to  its  privi- 
leges." In  the  case  of  this  organization  the  Library  is  not 
secondary  to  the  Athenaeum,  but  the  Athenaeum  to  the  Li- 
brary. Previous  to  1856  the  Institution  had  received  gifts 
of  various  kinds;  some  paintings,  collections  of  shells,  pieces 
of  old  china  and  furniture  and  other  things  of  historic 
interest.     It  evidently  was  now  determined  to  make  more 

25 


prominent  this  feature  of  our  life.  And  to  this  end  not  only 
were  these  treasures  placed  properly  on  exhibition  in  the 
Reading  Room,  but  a  series  of  lectures  was  arranged  for.  In 
i860,  we  lind  a  record  that  the  thanks  of  the  Board  were 
voted  to  ihe  Gentlemen  who  lectured  last  winter,  of  whom 
eleven  are  named.  In  1864,  the  thanks  were  likewise  given 
to  Col.  Thomas  W.  Higginson  for  his  lecture  on  "The  Free- 
dom of  South  Carolina;"  in  1869,  E.  R.  Humphrey  for  his 
able  and  eloquent  lecture  on  "Bulwer,  the  Novelist,  as  an 
Orator  and  Poet."  In  1879,  the  thanks  of  the  Board  were 
extended  to  the  Reverend  Charles  T.  Brooks  "for  the  interest- 
ing lecture  that  he  has  recently  delivered  at  the  Library 
building."  With  the  growth  of  the  public  i^aid  lecture 
oystem  throughout  the  country,  the  lectures  in  the  Library 
seem  to  have  ended,  although  of  late  years  one  was  given  at 
the  opening  of  the  Shakespeare  Exhibition  in  1914,  by  Miss 
Henrietta  C.  Bartlett  of  New  York,  a  well  known  authority 
on  Shakespeare's  writings.  There  would  seem  to  be  but  little 
reason  in  these  days  for  progressing  further  in  this  direc- 
tion, but  the  work  of  a  Library  such  as  this  is  so  closely 
allied,  in  its  purposes  of  education  and  of  literary  improve- 
ment, with  that  of  an  Athenaeum,  that  the  name  may  still 
be  considered  as  appropriate  to  our  organization. 

To  a  few  incidents  of  historical  interest  I  may  refer. 

In  1861  Mr.  Charles  B.  King  made  to  the  Library  a  dona- 
tion of  about  fifty  oil  paintings  mainly  by  his  own  brush, 
and  after  his  death  lone  year  later,  the  Library  received  a 
legacy  from  him  of  seventy-five  more.  Mr.  King  was  a 
native  of  Newport  and  in  later  life  for  many  years  had  a 
studio  on  Clarke  Street.  There  are  many  paintings  of  merit, 
and  many  of  historical  interest,  among  those  which  we 
received  from  him.  In  1878  the  corporate  seal  of  the  Library 
was  adopted. 

In  1916  a  remarkable  Loan  Exhibition  of  Shakespeare- 
ana  was  held. 

In  1903  the  first  women  Directors  were  elected,  who, 
and  their  successors,  have,  as  we  should  well  imagine,  been 

26 


ever  most  faithful  to  their  (hitics,  and  devoted  to  the  interests 
of  the  Library. 

A  few  eminent  persons  have  been  more  or  less  closely 
associated  with  the  Library  during  these  175  years.  Dr. 
Ezra  Stiles,  later  President  of  Yale  College  for  twenty  years, 
while  Pastor  of  the  Second  Congregational  Church  in  our 
city,  acted  as  our  Librarian;  not  so  much  because  of  the 
need  of  such  an  ofhcer,  as  that  he  might  have  the  key  and 
be  able  to  spend  his  hours  in  the  study  of  the  rare  and  valu- 
able volumes  which  he  tells  us  filled  the  shelves  before  the 
Revolution.  Reverend  Dr.  Channing's  use  of  the  Library 
has  been  already  referred  to.  In  later  years  George  Ban- 
croft, William  Beach  Lawrence,  Col.  Thomas  W.  Higginson, 
Julia  Ward  Howe,  Prof.  Agassiz  and  others  frequented  these 
rooms. 

Our  Presidents  have  been  men  prominent  in  our  city 
life.  And  of  our  Librarians  Edward  Scott,  Thomas  Moffatt, 
Ezra  Stiles,  Christopher  Ellery,  Benjamin  H.  Rhoades,  and 
Richard  Bliss  have  been  men  of  learning. 

Newport  was,  as  we  have  seen,  early  celebrated,  and  in 
many  ways  a  leader,  among  the  cities  of  the  United  States 
in  regard  to  things  social  and  literary.  A  writer  from 
another  State  has  written,  "The  Island  of  Rhode  Island  from 
its  salubrity  and  passing  beauty  before  the  Revolutionary 
War  so  sadly  defaced  it,  was  the  chosen  resort  of  the  rich 
and  philosophic  from  nearly  all  parts  of  the  civilized  world. 
In  no  spot  of  the  thirteen  colonies  was  there  concentrated 
more  individual  opulence,  learning,  science  and  liberal 
leisure." 

This  opinion  came  from  Boston,  whose  inhabitants  cer- 
tainly are  considered,  and  consider  themselves,  fully  quali- 
fied to  judge  of  such  matters. 

In  this  glorious  period  of  the  City's  existence  the  Red- 
wood Library  was  founded.  With  the  City,  it  suffered 
during  the  Revolution,  an  eclipse  of  its  prominence  for  use- 
fulness for  many  years  following  that  disastrous  War. 
Toward  the  middle  of  the  last  Century  we  begin  to  see 
gleamings  of  reawakening  to  the  earlier  conditions  in  the 

27 


City's  lilc  as  far  as  relates  to  "individual  opulence  and  liberal 
leisure,"  but  as  regards  "philosopliic  and  scientific  learning," 
there  has  been  no  reawakening.  In  the  midst  of  this  condi- 
tion of  affairs  stands  this  Library  as  the  exponent  of  liter- 
ature and  the  arts.  In  such  worldly  surroundings  its  light 
may  be  somewhat  dimmed,  but  we  believe  that  the  City 
today  would  be  far  different  had  this  Institution  not  existed. 
We  are  proud  of  its  past,  we  arc  proud  of  its  present,  and  we 
are  hopeful  of  its  future,  believing  that  the  noble  work  of 
our  predecessors  cannot  have  been  in  vain  and  that  more 
and  more  intellectual  life  will  shine  out  from  this  building, 
and  make  this  City  again  as  it  was  in  the  past,  the  chosen 
resort  not  only  of  the  rich,  but  also  of  the  "philosophic,  the 
learned  and  the  scientific,  from  all  parts  of  the  civilized 
world." 


28 


ADDRESS 


BY 

REAR  ADMIRAL  WILLIAM  S.  SIMS 

President  U.  S.  Naval  War  College 


Doctor  Terry,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen: 

I  have  wondered  ever  since  Dr.  Terry  asked  me  to  make 
a  few  remarks  here  this  afternoon  why  he  asked  me.  He 
must  know  that  I  have  no  special  knowledge  of  libraries  or 
library  business.  I  suppose  he  was  more  or  less  curious  to 
hear  what  I  might  say,  possibly  hoping  it  might  be  some- 
thing that  should  not  be  said.  Of  course,  he  could  not  ex- 
pect any  scholarly  production  from  me. 

Now,  1  suppose  you  may  wonder  why  it  was  that  I  ac- 
cepted his  invitation.  My  chief  reason  was  that  there  are  few 
things  that  I  would  not  do  if  Dr.  Terry  asked  me;  also  I 
accepted  because  of  my  interest  as  a  reader.  It  is  my 
chief  pleasure.  A  lady  who  has  had  exceptional  opportuni- 
ties to  observe  my  personal  habits  says  I  would  read  any 
printed  matter. 

Of  course  I  won't  go  into  anything  about  the  develop- 
ment of  libraries,  because  I  know  nothing  about  them,  except 
what  the  average  citizen  might  have  picked  up  in  his  read- 
ing. I  know^  that  they  have  existed  since  the  very  earliest 
civilizations;  from  the  brick  libraries  of  Babylonia  and 
Assyria  all  the  way  up  to  the  Library  of  Congress  with  two 
million  volumes.  There  is  no  dearth  of  books.  I  read  the 
other  day  there  were  100,000  books  already  published  on  the 
war.  I  know  something  of  this  subject,  because  I  wrote  one 
of  those  books  myself.     I   also  know   that  almost  all  war 

29 


books  arc  dead;  that  a  publisher  in  Boston  recently  sold  to 
John  Wananiakcr  17,(){)0  of  them  for  five  cents  apiece.  I 
do  not  know  whether  I  got  in  that  class  or  not. 

From  my  point  of  view  as  a  reader,  the  problem  is  not 
so  much  the  collection  of  books,  or  the  establishment  of  li- 
braries, as  it  is  getting  the  people  in  contact  with  the  books. 
There  is  no  dearth  of  libraries,  as  Dr.  Terry  has  said.  Be- 
sides the  public  libraries,  there  are  many  private  ones,  some 
of  which  are  for  real  use, — the  book  lover's  heaven.  Some 
are  mere  collections  of  books  in  handsome  bindings,  and 
some  are  collections  of  rare  editions  that  are  kept  in  bur- 
glar-proof rooms.  I  have  seen  some  of  those.  I  have  read 
of  a  book  that  was  published  by  a  rich  man,  who  employed 
authors  to  write  it  and  artists  to  illustrate  it.  It  was  done  in 
the  very  best  style  of  the  printer's  art;  it  was  a  ponderous 
volume  about  15  inches  wide,  20  inches  long  and  several 
inches  thick.  It  had  to  do  with  the  bird  life  of  a  certain 
locality.  After  the  first  copy  of  the  book  was  printed  the 
plates  were   all   destroyed. 

Of  course,  there  are  all  kinds  of  technical  libraries.  We 
have  one  in  Washington  that  belongs  to  the  Navy  itself, 
called  the  OfTice  of  Naval  Intelligence.  It  was  mostly  in  man- 
uscript. I  was  shipmate  with  an  officer  one  time  who  was 
ordered  to  duty  in  this  office.  I  asked  him  how  he  liked  his 
orders.  He  said  he  was  very  much  pleased.  I  said,  "Do  you 
know  much  about  Naval  Intelligence?"  He  answered,  "In 
that  office  you  don't  have  to  know  anything,  all  you  have 
to  know  is  where  to  find  it." 

I  was  amused  the  other  day  in  reading  of  a  library  of 
a  peculiar  kind,  one  which  recalled  my  earliest  experience 
with  literature.  It  contained  1500  of  the  Dime  Novels  of  my 
youth.  Some  of  the  titles  were  "Deadwood  Dick,"  "Kit 
Carson,"  "Arizona  Jones,"  and  "Bill  the  Blizzard,"  all 
slaughterers  of  bad  Indians;  and  when  the  Indians  were 
all  killed  off,  their  authors  moved  into  the  city  and  wrote 
"The  Wall  Street  Blood"  and  "Tick,  Tick,  the  Telephone 
Girl,"  a  flapper  of  the  early  80's.  There  is  a  peculiarity 
about  those  books  and  that  is  that  they  were  successful  in 

30 


one  important  sense,  a  sense  that  I  expect  to  refer  to  pres- 
ently on  behalf  of  the  readers.  Those  books  contained 
plenty  of  human  interest.  The  moral  lessons  they  taught 
were  sound.  The  hero  was  perhaps  impossibly  brave,  but 
always  successful,  and  the  villain  invariably  got  it  in  the 
neck.  They  interested  the  young  people  of  my  day,  whereas 
many  of  the  books  they  gave  me  bored  me  to  death.  I  can 
remember  very  perfectly  the  books  that  were  given  me  in 
Sunday  School  for  having  a  certain  number  of  blue  tickets. 
Those  books  were  religiously  read  to  me,  and  I  can  see  now 
the  pictures  of  the  boys  and  girls  depicted  therein  in  their 
distressingly  correct  costumes;  and  remember  very  distinctly 
how  disgustingly  good  those  children  were,  and  how  impos- 
sibly dutiful,  obedient  and  pious.  I  give  you  my  word  I 
hated  them  heartily  and  do  to  this  day.  I  would  consider 
it  an  infliction  if  I  had  a  child  like  that  in  my  house. 

There  was  published  a  little  while  ago  a  book  by  Irving 
Cobb,  entitled  "A  Plea  for  Old  Cap  Collier,"  which  came 
about  in  this  way.  He  fell  sick  and  was  marooned  in  the 
inn  of  a  small  New  England  village,  and  after  he  had  read 
the  local  papers,  including  the  advertisements,  and  several 
magazines  that  dated  back  to  the  Civil  War,  and  looked 
through  a  copy  of  "Pilgrim's  Progress,"  he  came  across  an 
old  Second  Reader,  which  took  him  back  to  the  time  of  his 
youth.  That  was  the  same  kind  of  a  Second  Reader  that  1 
had  been  obliged  to  read,  and  how  I  did  dislike  that  stuff, 
with  its  selections  of  gems  of  literature  that  did  not  interest 
me  even  a  little  bit.  I  much  preferred  the  pep  and  ginger 
of  the  Dime  Novel;  its  absorbing  adventure  created  a  taste 
for  reading,  which  the  Second  Reader  never  could  have 
done.  I  recommend  that  you  read  Mr.  Cobb's  book,  those  of 
you  who  are  old  enough  to  have  had  experience  with  the 
old  fashioned  schoolbooks. 

There  are  too  few  readers,  and  the  problem  to  my  mind 
is  to  get  the  readers  in  touch  with  the  books,  to  do  some- 
thing that  will  stimulate  the  latent  desire  on  the  part  of  the 
people  for  the  interest  there  is  in  books.  Here  is  an  in- 
stance fror|i  my  boyhood  of  how  easily  this  desire  may  be 

31 


created.  My  father  was  at  the  time  engaged  in  building 
railroads,  iron  furnaces,  etc.,  away  from  the  main  lines  of 
travel.  Headquarters  were  established  in  a  village  of  only 
150  inhabitants,  a  few  houses  on  one  side  of  the  street,  and 
one  store,  which  contained  the  Post  Office  and  ser\'ed  as 
the  town  club,  where  the  political  solons  gathered  on  winter 
evenings  around  the  red  hot  stove  and  discussed  the  affairs 
of  the  nation.  One  of  my  acquaintances  was  Jimmic  Garvey. 
His  father  was  a  laborer  and  general  choreman,  and  his 
mother  a  washerwoman  and  general  physician  to  the  neigh- 
bors. Neither  of  them  could  read  nor  write,  but  they  were 
worthy  people  and  useful  citizens.  I  distinctly  remember 
one  of  my  baby  sisters  being  seized  with  colic  one  night, 
and  Mammy  Garvey  was  sent  for,  and  came  in  with  a  pot  of 
goose  grease,  which  she  rubbed  into  the  palms  of  the  baby's 
hands  with  entirely  satisfactory  results. 

Jimmy  Garvey  was  a  playmate  of  mine,  and  one  day 
he  was  passing  by  our  house  while  I  was  sitting  at  the  win- 
dow reading  a  book.  That  astonished  him  very  much.  He 
had  never  owned  a  book,  had  probably  never  seen  anything 
but  a  Second  Reader.  He  asked  me  what  I  was  studying.  I 
said  I  wasn't  studying,  I  was  reading  a  story.  He  said, 
"What  do  you  mean  by  a  story?"  I  invited  him  in.  When 
he  saw  the  few  hundred  books  in  the  little  library,  he  said, 
"Gee,  are  all  them  scboolbooks?"  I  told  him  they  were 
story  books  that  told  about  all  sorts  of  fights  and  adven- 
tures. I  had  been  reading  "Ivanhoe,"  I  showed  him  a  pic- 
ture of  a  knight  in  full  armor  on  his  war  horse,  and  read 
him  an  account  of  a  tournament.  He  listened  with  an  open 
mouth  and  eyes  blazing.  When  I  had  finished  he  said, 
"Gee,  I  wish  I  had  a  book  like  that."  I  let  him  take  the 
book.  Of  course  he  ate  it  up,  he  inhaled  it,  he  absorbed  it. 
He  came  back  and  borrowed  more.  Old  Father  and  Mother 
Garvey  were  disgusted  because  they  couldn't  get  Jimmie  to 
do  the  chores;     every  spare  minute  he  put  into  books. 

There  is  something  of  that  kind  that  needs  doing,  even 
if  you  have  to  give  the  people  the  Dime  Novels.  I  have  been 
in  farm  houses,  while  on  surveying  expeditions,  where  no 

32 


newspaper  ever  came  into  the  house,  where  there  were  no 
books  except  sometimes  a  hirge,  cheaply  bound  Bible,  and 
sometimes  a  copy  of  "Pi lif rim's  Progress."  Those  farm 
people  knew  in  a  general  way  that  there  were  libraries  in 
towns  and  cities,  but  thought  they  were  only  for  learned 
people.  There  was  nothing  to  bring  them  into  contact  with 
books.  There  are  lots  of  people  in  towns,  and  in  this  very 
town  here,  who  simply  do  not  know  what  a  mine  of  pleas- 
ure and  profit  there  is  in  a  library. 

The  necessity  of  bringing  books  and  people  together  is 
being  recognized  throughout  the  country.  I  read  the  other 
day  of  a  society  of  readers  called  "Friends  of  Readers,"  up  in 
Syracuse,  whose  object  was  to  bring  readers  in  contact  with 
books.  There  are  pathetic  instances  of  the  desire  of  people 
for  books.  A  woman  came  into  a  library  recently  and  asked 
for  a  book  the  title  of  which  she  said  was  "Feeling  Better." 
Library  assistants  have  many  puzzling  requests  to  inter- 
pret. "Feeling  Better"  would  have  stumped  many  of  them, 
but  this  one  divined  from  a  few  questions  as  to  the  nature 
of  the  book  that  the  lady  w  anted  "Les  Miserables."  Another 
lady  went  to  a  Carnegie  Library  and  asked  for  a  book  of 
which  she  had  forgotten  the  title  and  the  name  of  the  author, 
all  she  remembered  was  that  it  had  a  red  cover;  and  the 
clever  assistant  got  her  the  book  all  the  same. 

There  is  a  curious  thing  about  the  book  trade  in  this 
country.  The  booksellers  are  not  always  helpful  to  the 
readers.  If  you  go  into  a  bookstore  and  ask  for  the  best 
book  on  a  certain  subject,  you  are  not  liable  to  get  it,  and 
the  reason  is  that  the  risk  is  on  the  bookseller.  If  he  orders 
a  number  of  copies  of  a  book  and  they  do  not  sell  he  has 
them  on  his  hands.  The  trade  name  of  such  a  book  is  a 
"plug."  When  you  ask  his  advice  in  making  a  purchase, 
you  will  probably  get  a  book  of  this  kind.  Business  is  busi- 
ness. His  method  of  selling  plugs  is  to  stack  them  up  in  a 
conspicuous  place  on  one  of  the  tables  in  his  store,  and 
offer  each  one  of  his  salesmen  25  cents  if  he  can  sell  one. 
When  you  are  in  a  hurry,  between  trains,  and  want  a  good 
novel,  you  can  imagine  the  kind  you  will  get.  I  went  into  a 

33 


bookstore  the  other  day  to  ijct  a  couple  of  books,  and  llie  man 
recommended  certain  ones.  I  said  "I  don't  want  a  phig." 
The  look  that  came  over  his  face  was  very  anuisini^,  and  he 
said,  "Then  you  won't  like  those,"  and  he  recommended 
others. 

The  most  useful  libraries  are  the  circulating  kind,  which 
were  started  in  this  country  by  Benjamin  f'ranklin.  These 
libraries  enable  the  people  who  want  books  to  get  them — 
if  they  know  about  them.  They  are  a  far  cry  from  the  time 
when  books  were  chained  to  library  desks.  The  ordinary 
library  is  a  reservoir;  the  circulating  library  is  a  w^ater 
system.  But  what  I  am  trying  to  get  at  is  the  necessity  of 
getting  the  books  to  the  people  in  order  that  the  desire  for 
reading  may  be  stimulated.  I  don't  know  how  it  would  best 
be  done,  but  I  feel  that  it  should  be  done.  The  travelling 
library  is  an  effort  in  this  direction.  I  know  little  about 
them,  or  how  they  are  managed,  but  they  are  claimed  to  be 
so  successful  among  the  colored  people  of  the  South  that  they 
have  had  considerable  effect  in  decreasing  illiteracy. 

In  the  North,  according  to  President  Faunce  of  Brown 
University,  no  greater  service  can  be  rendered  by  an  Amer- 
ican than  by  teaching  a  foreigner  to  read  the  English  lan- 
guage, and  understand  something  about  our  history.  The 
average  American  doesn't  know  much  more  of  our  history 
than  he  got  out  of  his  schoolbooks,  and  you  know  what  our 
school  histories  are  like.  If  our  people  could  be  induced  to 
read  our  history  and  our  reviews,  the  quality  of  our  citizen- 
ship would  be  greatly  improved. 

A  man  came  to  me  a  few  weeks  ago  and  made  a  very 
curious  proposition.  He  proposes  to  publish  at  a  popular 
price  "Uncle  Sam's  History  of  the  United  States,"  a  book  of 
about  500  pages,  each  page  of  900  words  to  contain  a  con- 
densed account  of  some  incident  or  period  of  our  history, 
our  Constitution,  state  governments,  national  ideals,  aspira- 
tions, etc.,  each  written  by  the  man  considered  best  qualified 
to  handle  the  particular  subject — two  pages  to  be  devoted 
to  the  most  important  subjects. 

He  asked  me  to  contribute  an  account  of  the  accom- 


34 


plishmcnts  of  our  Navy  during  the  Great  War,  and  other 
naval  otlicers  to  write  similar  artieles  upon  the  beginning 
of  our  navy,  the  navy  in  the  War  of  1812,  etc.,  each  suitably 
illustrated. 

All  this  not  with  the  idea  that  such  a  book  would  in  any 
sense  replace  our  standard  histories,  but  that  it  would  pre- 
sent the  main  features  of  our  history  and  our  form  of  gov- 
ernment in  a  form  so  simple  and  attractive  that  it  would  be 
widely  read  and  not  only  give  the  readers  a  good  general 
idea  of  the  benefits  of  our  system  of  government,  but  would 
interest  them  to  such  an  extent  as  to  send  them  to  the  li- 
braries for  more  detailed  accounts. 

I  understand  that  Mr.  Wood,  President  of  the  New 
England  Association  of  Woolen  Manufacturers,  proposes 
to  take  30,000  copies  for  circulation  among  factory  workers, 
particularly  those  of  foreign  birth  or  extraction;  that  he  at 
first  proposed  to  have  these  printed  in  the  language  of  the 
employees;  but  that  he  is  advised  that  more  good  would  be 
done  if  the  books  were  printed  in  English,  because  the  chil- 
dren of  the  people  needing  what  is  called  Americanization 
go  to  school,  read  and  speak  English,  and  would  read  the 
books  to  their  parents. 

From  my  conversation  with  lots  of  people  in  the  country, 
away  from  railroads,  among  the  miners,  among  the  farmers, 
etc.,  I  believe  that  a  book  like  that  w^ould  start  many  a  boy 
on  the  path  of  reading  something  in  history,  and  in  other 
books,  that  is  worth  while;  and  that  is  what  we  need  in 
this  country.  We  need  to  stimulate  a  desire  for  informa- 
tion and  an  appreciation  of  the  pleasure  and  profit  to  be 
derived  from  books,  even  at  a  risk  of  developing  a  few 
bookworms — though  that  has  its  compensations. 

As  Mr,  Walter  Menzies  says,  under  the  title  of  "The 
Bookworm's  Apologia": 

"That  the  man  w^ho  spends  his  life  among  books  occu- 
pies but  an  ignoble  place  in  the  imagination  of  the  multitude 
must  indeed  be  admitted.  But  that  matters  little.  Nor  need 
he  let  it  occasion  him  any  uneasiness.  When  young  he  may 
envy  those  heroes  of  the  ring,  those  whose  claim  to  fame  is 

35 


that  they  can  kick  a  ball  twice  as  far  as  the  next  man,  those 
who  can  make  their  century  before  the  wicket,  those  who 
arc  'first  in  the  field  and  first  with  the  oar.'  That  he  does 
envy  them  is  probable,  for  we  are  all  prone  to  admire  in 
others  that  which  we  most  lack  in  ourselves;  and  your  book- 
ish man  is  seldom  a  Hercules. 

"But  let  him  wait.  Old  age  creeps  on  the  athlete  as  well  as 
the  scholar,  and  ignorant  old  age  is  perhaps  the  most  pitiable 
picture  that  Father  Time  can  draw.  When  his  strong  limbs 
fail  him,  wdien  physical  pleasures  are  beyond  him,  when  his 
senile  vaporings  but  weary  the  younger  generation,  what  is 
left  for  him  but  to  laze  away  his  life  like  a  tortoise?  Sleep- 
ing and  eating  are  the  measure  of  his  capacities.  But  the 
Bookworm  has  learnt  from  his  studies  how  to  live  and  dis- 
course with  himself.  Not  for  him  the  lamentable  lot  of  de- 
pendence on  the  grudging  company  of  his  relatives  who 
humor  him  with  alternate  curses  and  cajolery,  as  they  wait 
complacently  for  his  longed-for  demise.  He  may  choose 
his  company  at  will  from  the  great  authors  of  all  ages.  If 
he  disagree  with  their  opinions  he  need  not  fear  their  up- 
braiding, but  has  only  to  lay  them  aside.  He  will  not  find 
the  evenings  long  nor  life  tedious." 

Those  interested  in  libraries  will  have  achieved  their 
greatest  usefulness  when  they  succeed  in  bringing  the  great- 
est number  of  men-in-the-strcet  in  contact  with  the  maxi- 
mum number  of  worth-while  books;  that  is,  when  they  have 
convinced  the  average  citizen  that  just  around  the  corner  is 
a  mine  of  pleasure  for  his  youth  and  a  solace  for  his  old  age 
— not  to  mention  that  even  if  the  information  gained  does 
not  prove  a  material  benefit,  as  it  most  surely  will,  it  wall 
at  least  soften  his  nature,  make  him  a  more  tolerant  com- 
panion and  a  more  desirable  citizen. 


36 


ADDRESS 

BY 

ARTHUR  E.  BOSTWiCK,  Ph.D. 

of  St.   Louis,  Miss.        '  f 

Says  the  poet:  '  * 

"111  fares  the  land,  to  hastening  ills  a  prey 
Where  wealth  accumulates  and  men  decay." 

It  is  because  librarians  believe  in  the  antiseptic  virtues 
of  good  books  that  they  look  with  equanimity  on  the  accu- 
mulating wealth  that  has  done  so  much,  in  these  United 
States,  to  house  them  and  make  them  accessible.  It  is 
because  they  now  realize  that  books  are  valuable,  not  in 
themselves,  but  for  this  preservative  and  sweetening  influ- 
ence, that  they  have  come  to  dwell  on  the  importance  of  the 
reader  as  a  library  unit  co-ordinate  with  what  he  reads — 
that  they  are  socializing  their  libraries,  just  as  business  and 
industry  and  education  have  become  socialized.  An  organ- 
ized collection  of  books  that  has  been  radiating  these  influ- 
ences until  well  toward  the  close  of  its  second  century  is 
something  of  a  curiosity  in  what  our  cousins  overseas  are 
prone  to  call  a  "young"  country.  The  country  is  hardly  young 
— witness  the  age-old  ruins  in  our  Southwest — neither  are 
the  people;  our  ancestors  did  not  suddenly  revert  to  cave- 
men when  they  first  trod  these  shores.  What  is  young  about 
us  are  certain  adjustments — the  ones  that  require  time. 
Among  these  is  the  creation  of  institutions — universities — - 
libraries.  They  may  appear  to  spring  up  full-panoplied, 
like  Minerva  from  Jove's  head,  but  there  must  be  that  about 
them,  before  they  are  what  they  should  be,  that  only  the 
mellowing  influences  of  time  can  bestow.  Just  what  was 
in  Abraham  Redwood's  mind  when,  nearly  a  score  of  years 

37 


before  Jefferson's  Declaration  was  read  in  Independence 
Hall,  he  endowed  this  Library  with  what  was  then  a  small 
fortune,  no  one  can  now  say.  It  is  certain  that  he  can  have 
had  no  clear  vision  of  that  remarkable  movement  which  has 
made  our  country  the  foremost  of  the  world  for  her  popular 
libraries.  But  there  was  at  any  rate  a  solid  conviction  of 
that  preservative  and  uplifting  power  of  books  on  a  com- 
munity with  which  we  began.  The  name  of  Newport  has 
long  been  a  synonym  for  all  that  belongs  to  accumulated 
wealth.  Its  evidences  are  to  be  seen  on  all  sides.  But  the 
decay  of  men  is  not  here,  and  you  are  surely  exempt  from 
the  poet's  malediction.  Just  what  part  the  Redwood  Library 
has  played  in  this  happy  exemption  it  is  not  for  me  to  say. 
Here  have  been  stored  the  anti-septics;  it  would  be  strange 
if  they  had  not  been  used  to  good  purpose. 

It  is  my  pleasant  duty  today  to  bring  to  the  Redwood  Li- 
brary, its  Trustees,  its  staff  and  its  community  of  readers,  the 
felicitations  of  its  sister  libraries  throughout  our  land,  on 
the  long  period  of  usefulness  to  which  it  has  now  attained 
and  to  express  our  confidence  that  its  youth,  renewed  like 
the  eagle's,  may  enable  it  to  play  its  part  under  new  condi- 
tions and  with  constantly  advancing  ideals,  through  many 
more  i)eriods  of  a  double  century  each. 

What  is  this  remarkable  change  in  the  aims  of  libraries 
and  the  outlook  of  librarians  to  which  I  have  alluded?  Its 
details  are  many,  some  forcing  themselves  upon  our  notice, 
others  less  prominent  but  still  vital — greatly  enlarged  and 
improved  buildings,  more  careful  cataloguing,  increased  lib- 
erty and  ease  of  access  to  the  books,  service  to  children,  mul- 
tiplication of  special  departments — art,  music,  applied  sci- 
ence— extension  of  facilities  by  branch  libraries,  stations, 
messenger-service — a  host  of  items  too  long  to  recount  here; 
but  it  may  be  summed  up,  I  believe,  in  the  single  statement 
that  the  librarian  has  ceased  to  be  solely  the  custodian  of 
books  and  has  become  also  the  servant  of  the  community-^ 
its  adviser  and  helper  in  all  that  pertains  to  books  and  liter- 
ature, the  assistant  of  the  teacher  in  providing  the  means  for 


38 


education  after  school  days  are  over,  the  purveyor  of  all 
kinds  of  information,  a  propagandist  of  the  printed  page. 

Formerly,  in  an  effort  to  ascertain  a  librarian's  etll- 
ciency,  one  might  ask  him,  "How  many  and  what  books  have 
you?  Arc  they  in  good  condition?  Are  they  properly 
shelved,  catalogued,  classilied?"  Today  these  queries  art* 
no  less  pertinent  than  in  days  past,  but  we  should  also  be 
inclined  to  ask,  "How  many  and  what  kind  of  persons  art? 
there  in  your  community?  Do  they  read  your  books?  Do 
you  supply  their  needs  and  wants,  taking  them  singly  and 
by  groups?  Do  you  give  special  service  to  children?  to 
school  teachers?  to  industrials?  to  students?  Are  you  try- 
ing to  make  the  library  the  intellectual  center  of  your  com- 
munity?" 

Note  that  these  queries  relate  not  primarily  to  books, 
but  to  human  beings.  The  librarian  is  essentially  the  man 
to  whom  nothing  human  must  be  alien;  he  must  and  does 
realize  that  a  library  consists  of  books  plus  readers.  Both 
must  be  his  care.  There  is  no  library  in  a  community  with- 
out books.  But  neither  is  there  any  in  the  proper  sense,  that 
of  practical  values,  where  a  huge  collection  of  books  totally 
lacks  readers.  There  are  potentialities  here,  but  so  there 
are  in  the  mob  of  bookless  persons  To  realize  these  poten- 
tialities, in  the  one  case  as  in  the  other,  the  two  elements 
must  be  brought  together.  Then  with  this  one  stone  we  have 
killed  two  birds — we  have  provided  our  books  with  readers 
and  our  readers  with  books — we  have  a  library  ''in  esse." 
But  even  so  the  librarian  still  has  his  work  cut  out  for  him. 
It  is  a  sad,  but  a  true  thing,  that  to  the  wedding  feast  of  the 
Mind  and  the  Book,  as  in  that  other  of  which  we  are  told 
in  Holy  Writ,  it  is  not  suflicient  to  send  invitations.  With 
one  consent,  a  large  proportion  will  begin  to  make  excuse. 
And  to  the  Scriptural  ones  of  the  journey  undertaken,  the 
wife  just  married,  a  host  of  others  will  be  added — lack  of 
time,  disinclination  and  what  not — all  usually  hiding  a 
basic  ignorance  of  what  is  to  be  found  in  books  and  of  how 
they  may  profit  and  delight  minds  of  all  (jualities  and  capac- 
ities, if  only  the  proper  adjustment  be  made.     We  must  in 

39 


truth  go  out  into  the  highways  and  hedges  and  compel  them 
to  come  in.  Only  as,  unlike  the  puhlic  school,  we  have  not 
the  stern  hand  of  the  law  to  aid  us,  in  the  person  of  the 
truant  officer,  our  compulsion  must  be  of  that  gentler  vari- 
ety "that  blesses  him  that  gives  and  him  that  takes."  We 
are  forced,  in  short,  so  to  order  our  institutions  that  self- 
interest  may  propel  and  guide  each  member  of  the  commu* 
nity  to  the  library. 

It  was  once  a  classic  tale  around  libraries,  whether 
true  or  not  matters  little,  that  a  Philadelphia  alderman  had 
proposed,  in  good  faith,  to  abolish  the  public  library, 
spend  the  whole  library  appropriation  in  the  purchase  ot 
books,  dump  them  on  the  City  Hall  floor  and  let  the  citizens 
take  their  pick.  However  impractical  this  plan,  its  pro- 
poser at  least  realized  one  thing — that  the  essentials  in  pub- 
lic book  service  are  the  books  and  the  readers,  and  that  the 
librarian's  business  is  to  get  them  together  as  quickly  as 
possible  and  with  a  minimum  amount  of  machinery.  What 
the  good  alderman's  plan  failed  to  provide  for,  and  what 
our  plant  of  buildings  and  equipment  and  staff  is  intended 
to  do,  is  to  insure  that  the  right  book  goes  to  the  right  reader, 
and  as  every  live,  literate  person  needs  some  book,  whether 
he  realizes  it  or  not,  to  bring  that  need  home  to  him,  so  thai 
every  citizen  will  become  a  reader. 

You  may  have  heard  of  the  rural  pastor  who,  when  the 
duty  of  uniting  several  couples  in  marriage  presented  it- 
self, performed  one  ceremony,  ending  with  "I  now  pro- 
nounce you  men  and  wives;  you  can  sort  yourselves."  In 
the  marriage  of  the  Mind  and  the  Book,  the  sorting,  the 
adjustment,  is  unfortunately  not   always   automatic. 

Where  the  Scripture  talks  of  "compelling,"  it  means,  I 
take  it,  to  include  the  exercise  of  any  appropriate  force;  and 
the  force  most  appropriate  to  the  library  is  that  of  attrac- 
tion. It  must  be  a  magnet,  and  the  community  its  field  of 
force;  every  citizen  must  find  himself  on  one  of  its  lines, 
moving  along  it  in  a  course  which  will  inevitably  bring  him 
to  a  book.  To  create  such  a  field,  it  considers  many  efforts 
justifiable  and  proper  that  were  far  from  the  purview  of 

40 


libraries  as  they  were  a  half-century  ago.  The  machinery 
of  the  old  library  was  materialistic.  Its  books  enfolded  the 
same  intellectual  and  spiritual  forces  that  they  do  today; 
yet  it  made  no  attempt  to  set  in  motion  any  intellectual  or 
spiritual  connection  with  its  environment.  Such  a  connec- 
tion exists  when  the  citizen  thinks  of  the  library  not  only 
as  a  place  where  books  are  stored,  available  to  him  if  he 
should  chance  to  want  them,  but  in  some  degree  as  a  home 
— a  center  of  material  information,  intellectual  recreation 
and  spiritual  inspiration — the  center  to  which  he  naturally 
turns  when  he  wishes  to  satisfy  any  mental  yearning — educa- 
tional, social,  religious,  political,  artistic — that  cannot  be 
satisfied  by  any  other  institution.  In  my  own  library — I 
mention  it  only  because  its  statistics  are  familiar  to  me,  for 
it  is  typical  of  scores  of  others,  we  entertain  in  the  course 
of  the  year  about  4000  bodies  of  citizens,  some  regularly, 
others  casually — classes  in  languages,  music  or  economics, 
social,  political  or  church  organizations;  debating  clubs,  boy 
scout  organizations,  women's  clubs,  the  Posts  of  the  Amer- 
ican Legion.  During  the  War,  the  local  draft  committees 
met  in  our  branches;  now  the  Board  of  Education  uses 
them  for  continuation  schools;  such  as  are  convenient 
serve  as  polling  places  at  elections.  For  these  privileges  we 
ask  no  fee.  We  are  happy  to  have  an  opportunity  to  draw 
still  tighter  the  bonds  that  join  us  to  our  readers,  actual  or 
potential,  and  to  strengthen  the  attractive  forces  that  tend 
to  change  the  latter  into  the  former.  That  these  forces  are 
operative,  we  have  ample  evidence. 

It  was  once  my  good  fortune  to  plan,  with  the  assistance 
of  a  group  of  our  most  eminent  architects,  the  system  of 
branch  libraries  in  our  largest  city.  The  architect  is  apt 
not  to  give  heed  to  the  rapid  socialization  of  the  library,  ana 
to  plan  its  buildings  with  a  principal  view  to  the  storage 
and  preservation  of  its  books.  When  I  had  explained  to 
one  of  the  most  broad-minded  of  the  group,  now  unfortu- 
nately passed  from  among  us,  the  enlarged  functions  that 
I  have  just  endeavored  to  outline,  he  exclaimed  with  some 
amazement,  "But   these   are  not  libraries   at   all;    they   are 

41 


connmmity  reading  clubs."  Ho  was  rii^ht;  it  is  as  a  coni- 
miinily  club  thai  we  must  hereafter  envisage  the  library. 
We  must  plan  our  buildings  as  such,  and  so  operate  them. 
If  the  use  of  the  library  requires  a  fee,  it  is  akin  to  the 
ordinary  club  that  is  supported  by  dues.  If  it  is  a  free  public 
library,  everyone  in  the  community  must  be  regarded  as  a 
member,  subject  to  good  behaviour  and  ability  to  enjoy  its 
privileges.  The  dues  are  still  paid,  but  they  are  gathered 
by  the  tax  collector.  In  this  case  the  individual's  share 
becomes  vanishingly  small.  By  resolution  adopted  at  its 
last  convention,  the  American  Library  Association  ex- 
pressed its  otiicial  opinion  that  the  inhabitants  of  a  city 
should  pay  not  less  than  a  dollar  apiece  annually  for  the 
support  of  their  library.  At  this  rate  New  York  would  have 
to  disburse  some  -f 5,000,000  a  year  for  this  purpose.  Few 
towns  are  coming  up  to  this  mark.  Detroit  and  Cleveland 
are  the  only  large  ones  that  occur  to  me.  In  my  own  town, 
St.  Louis,  we  are  getting  about  one-half  this  rate,  and  still 
we  are  doing  very  reasonable  service. 

One  of  the  ways  in  which  this  enlarged  community  ser- 
vice is  becoming  increasingly  apparent  is  as  a  comprehensive 
bureau  of  information,  especially  for  commerce  and  the 
industries.  The  library  is  a  huge  encyclopedia;  it  is  a 
storage  house  of  facts,  and  its  only  additional  need  is  ma- 
chinery, adequate  to  its  size,  to  get  at  these  facts  quickly  and 
communicate  them  to  those  who  want  them.  The  fault  with 
most  cyclopedias  is  that  they  are  not,  and  cannot  be,  up  to 
date.  Between  the  time  when  the  articles  are  written  and 
the  delivery  of  the  volumes  to  the  suscriber,  the  world  has 
kept  on  moving;  men  have  died,  presidents  have  been 
chosen,  thrones  have  fallen,  there  have  been  hosts  of  discov- 
eries in  science,  inventions  in  the  industries.  The  loose- 
leaf  cyclopedia  has  been  devised  to  obviate  this  out-of- 
darkness,  but  it  requires  special  work  in  sorting  and  arrang- 
ing leaves,  that  almost  demands  a  private  secretary  for  every 
subscriber.  Our  library  pioneer — Melvil  Dewey,  inventor 
of  the  decimal  system  of  classification  that  bears  his  name, 
has  suggested  a  cyclopedia  on  cards,  like  a  card  catalogue, 

42 


cards  being  prepared  and  sent  out  daily,  like  a  daily  pa- 
per, and  filed  continually,  so  as  to  keep  the  whole  up  to  date. 
Consulting  your  card  cyclopdia,  under  Portugal,  you  would 
find  mention  of  yesterday's  revolution;  seeking  data  on 
the  life  of  John  Smith,  you  would  be  told  that  he  had  died 
the  day  before.  A  somewhat  Utopian  scheme,  in  default  of 
which  we  may  offer  the  Libraiy  itself.  Its  books,  to  be  sure, 
are  often  out  of  date  for  this  purpose,  but  it  now  includes  in 
its  collection  tons  of  fugitive  material,  much  of  it  of  the  type 
once  somewhat  contemptuously  called  "biblia  abiblia," 
books  that  are  no  books — city  directories,  railway  guides, 
social  registers,  business  lists,  government  bulletins,  together 
with  all  sorts  of  publicity  material,  the  advertising  pages  of 
its  periodicals  are  mines  of  information,  and  they  are  pre- 
served when  they  are  bound  for  reference. 

The  machinery  that  is  yet  defective  for  the  proper  util- 
ization of  all  this,  is,  oddly  enough,  our  own  publicity.  The 
average  citizen  does  not  yet  realize  that  the  first  place  to  go 
for  information  is  his  public  library,  and  that  it  is  at  the 
other  end  of  the  telephone  that  stands  on  his  desk.  I  have 
known  a  man  to  write  to  a  Washington  department  for  data 
available  in  bulletins  on  our  shelves.  Others  write  to  the  city 
clerk  of  a  town  to  find  out  its  i^opulation,  when  the  census 
reports  are  wdthin  a  few  blocks.  They  even  wire  to  Peru 
or  Java  for  information  regarding  export  trade  that  we  have 
been  carefully  assembling  in  view  of  just  such  a  demand. 
Evidently  we  need  well-considered  publicity.  "Advertising" 
is  a  word  abhorred  of  some.  That  is  because  it  once  con- 
noted deceptive  or  even  fraudulent  publicity.  Nowadays 
the  advertising  pages  of  the  magazines  are  not  the  least 
interesting  and  informing  part  of  them;  I  frequently  find 
myself  scanning  them  before  I  cut  the  leaves  containing  thb 
articles  themselves,  but,  although  I  learn  from  them  of  the 
virtues  of  shoes,  neckties,  and  egg-beaters,  and  of  where 
they  can  be  bought,  I  look  in  vain  for  an  exposition  of  thb 
value  of  books  and  of  what  daily  use  may  be  made  of  them 
in  our  business. 

One  of  the  reasons  for  the  rapid  expansion  and  devel- 

43 


opmcnt  of  libraries  in  the  United  Stales  has  been  their  free- 
dom from  government  control  and  interference.  A  city's 
public  library  is  usually  required  by  law  to  submit  an  annual 
report,  but  its  authorities  are  left  free  to  take  their  own 
path  toward  the  goal  of  public  service.  Library  methods 
and  customs  have,  it  is  true,  become  to  a  certain  extent  stand- 
ardized; but  this  is  due  to  constant  comparison  and  discus- 
sion by  librarians  in  their  national  association,  in  State  asso- 
ciations, and  in  local  clubs,  and  not  in  any  way  to  prescrip- 
tion or  control  by  authority.  When  the  first  State 
library  commissions  or  committees  were  formed  by  legisla- 
tive enactment,  it  was  feared  by  some  that  the  control  that 
they  might  undertake  would  prove  hampering  to  initiative, 
but  these  fears  have  so  far  proved  unfounded.  The  commis- 
sions have  been,  on  the  whole,  helpful  bodies,  to  which  the 
small  library  may  and  does  frequently  turn  for  advice  and 
aid,  and  which  have  promoted,  sometimes  in  a  remarkable 
degree,  the  establishment  of  new  libraries  throughout  their 
jurisdictions.  In  cases  where  State  aid  is  given  to  libraries, 
as  in  New  York,  it  has  of  course  been  conditioned  on  the 
maintenance  of  a  proper  standard,  which  is  fixed  by  the 
authorities,  but  this  has  been  done  sanely  and  conservatively 
and  has  served  to  aid  rather  than  to  hinder  free  develoj3- 
ment. 

What  might  have  been  done  under  less  fortunate  condi- 
tions, we  may  see  by  observing  the  railroads  of  the  country, 
where,  according  to  Mr.  Howard  Elliott,  ofiicials  have  had  to 
occupy  an  increasingly  large  proportion  of  the  time  that 
should  be  devoted  to  the  improvement  of  service,  to  the  col- 
lection and  assemblage  of  data  for  all  sorts  of  statistical 
reports  and  to  the  gathering  and  preparation  of  information 
for  legislative  investigations.  He  suggests  a  "ten  year  holi- 
day" for  the  railroads,  during  which  they  should  be  let 
strictly  alone  and  should  devote  the  time  to  planning  and 
carrying  out  needed  improvement.  This  sort  of  holiday, 
which  the  railroads  have  vainly  asked,  has  been  accorded  to 
libraries  from  the  beginning,  and  they  arc  still  enjojung  it. 
To  its  blessings  may  be  credited  a  much  larger  share  of 
library  progress  than  is  generally  realized. 

41 


This  legislative  and  governmental  holiday  of  ours  is 
due,  we  may  suppose,  to  a  failure  to  realize  the  fact  that 
reading  is  as  important  to  the  community  as  transportation. 
A  complete  understanding  of  this  fact  might  terminate  our 
holiday,  and  paradoxically,  we  are  thus  indebted  for  our 
opportunity  of  expansion  and  betterment  to  the  ignorance 
and  indifference  of  the  public  toward  the  vital  value  of  our 
service.  There  is  dynamite,  therefore,  in  our  efforts  at  pub- 
licity, and  these  must  be  accompanied,  if  they  are  not  to 
destroy  themselves,  by  a  disposition  on  the  public's  part,  to 
let  the  library  continue  to  work  out  its  own  salvation.  Fortu- 
nately, this  disposition  now  exists,  except  in  one  or  two  in- 
stances. The  adoption  of  the  commission  form  of  govern- 
ment in  some  cities,  especially  those  having  a  city  man- 
ager, seemed  at  first  to  be  hostile  to  it.  In  certain 
cases  the  change  was  accompanied  by  the  abolition  of 
separate  boards  of  trustees  for  libraries,  which  sud- 
denly found  themselves  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
park  commissioner  or  the  public  welfare  department 
or  some  other  public  body  unacquainted  with  its  special 
needs  and  indifferent  to  the  quality  of  its  work.  Especially 
when  coupled  with  political  interference,  no  plan  could  be 
better  calculated  to  deaden  the  library's  enthusiasm  and 
smother  its  vitality.  In  a  few  cities,  the  authorities  in  charge 
of  the  civil  service  have  been  fated  to  interfere  with  the 
library's  usefulness.  An  adequate  system  of  service,  ensur- 
ing the  employment  of  a  trained  and  competent  staff,  with 
promotion  for  merit,  every  properly  operated  institution 
must  have.  But  where  operation  requires  expert  supervi- 
sion, the  system  of  service  must  be  included  in  this,  and  not 
turned  over  to  officials  who  are  unsympathetic  or  perhaps 
even  ignorant.  More  than  one  library  is  even  now  strug- 
gling under  this  incubus. 

For  some  years  past  there  has  been  a  determined  effort 
to  make  the  appointment  of  library  assistants  dependent  on 
some  form  of  public  certification.  This,  although  intended 
to  improve  library  personnel  and  advocated  to  a  large  degree 
by  librarians  themselves,  some  of  us  regard  as  a  serious 

45 


error,  as  tending  toward  the  very  control  from  outside,  free- 
dom from  whicli  has  hitherto  heen  our  greatest  boon.  It  has, 
however,  been  approved  by  the  American  Library  Associa- 
tion and  already  enacted  into  law  in  two  or  three  States.  It 
has  in  it  the  elements  of  troidjle,  but  i)erhaps  it  may  not 
prove  as  serious  as  I  anticipate.  Whatever  we  may  think  of 
it  as  a  general  economic  policy,  "laissez  faire"  has  certainly 
been  a  good  thing  for  libraries.  Anxious  over  some  of  the 
developments  that  I  have  just  noted,  some  public  librarians 
are  looking  with  envy  at  the  endowed  institutions  that  are 
"masters  in  every  degree  of  their  own  fate.  Hut  surely  a 
Municipality  may  support  education  without  assuming 
expert  control  of  it.  Public  ownership  does  not  necessarily 
involve  direct  public  operation.  Some  of  the  greatest  and 
most  successful  libraries  today  are  working  under  some  form 
t)f  cooperation  between  public  and  private  agencies.  The 
New  York  Public  Library  is  a  private  body,  doing  its  very 
great  public  w^ork  under  contract  with  the  city.  Many  of 
•our  other  public  libraries  hold  large  endowment  funds 
which  make  them  to  a  certain  degree  independent  of  public 
support,  and  it  is  noteworthy  that  instead  of  leading  to  de- 
creased support  this  independence  has  generally  operated 
to  swell  annual  appropriations.  "To  him  that  hath  shall  be 
given"  applies  in  this  case  as  in  so  many  others. 

If  I  have  devoted  a  congratulatory  address  on  a  library 
life  of  175  years,  so  largely  to  a  somewhat  random  discussion 
of  things  evident  in  libraries  only  for  the  past  20  or  25,  it  is 
because  I  regard  all  libraries,  whether  their  ages  are  meas- 
ured in  centuries,  or  years,  or  days,  as  merely  on  the  thresh- 
old of  their  usefulness.  They,  and  the  public  whom  they 
serve,  are  just  beginning  to  find  out  what  there  is  in  print 
and  what  may  be  accomplished  with  it.  We  are  dimly  real- 
izing, too,  how  impossible  it  is  to  work  with  books  unless  we 
work  also  with  human  beings — men,  women  and  children. 
In  the  fuller  realization  of  this  fact,  in  its  practical  consum- 
mation, in  the  devising  of  better,  cheaper  and  more  perfect 
means  of  bringing  it  about,  lies  the  possibility  of  what  we 
may  do  in  the  future.    The  benefits  of  age  lie  chiefly  in  dig- 

46 


nity,  traditions,  prestige  in  the  community,  and  past  oppor- 
tunity for  the  assemblage  of  a  collection  of  books,  many  of 
which  can  now  be  had  only  at  a  great  price,  or  not  at  all. 
Such  advantages  are  not  to  be  scoffed  at.  You  possess  them 
here  in  an  eminent  degree.  In  congratulating  we  also  envy, 
not  with  malice  but  with  due  appreciation  of  your  good 
fortune.  Like  the  community  that  you  serve,  you  must  ever 
look  to  quality  rather  than  quantity  for  pre-eminence.  You 
may  not  store  your  millions  of  books  like  the  Bihliotheqiic 
Rationale,  nor  may  you  distribute  them  to  your  citizens  in 
yearly  millions,  like  the  New  York  Public  Library.  But  in 
the  choiceness  of  your  book  collection,  in  the  service  that 
you  are  fitted  and  willing  to  render  to  your  readers,  you  may 
still  stand  in  the  foremost  rank.  May  you  stand  there, 
steadfast,  throughout  the  centuries  to  come! 


47 


PRESIDENTS 

OF    TF4K 

Redwood  Library  and  Athen^um 


ABRAHAM   REDWOOD  1747—1788 

HENRY   MARCHANT  1791  —  1797 

WILLIAM  VERNON  1797—1801 

JOHN   BOURS  1801-1809 

JONATHAN   EASTON  1809—1813 

ROBERT  STEVENS  1813—1830 

DAVID   KING  1830-1836 

AUDLEY  CLARKE  1836-1844 

GEORGE   G.  KING  1844-1846 

WILLIAM   HUNTER  1846-1849 

DAVID   KING  1849-1859 

GEORGE   G.  KING  18j9     1870 

WILLIAM  COZZENS  1 870  -  1 872 

HENRY   LEDYARD  1872-1874 

EDWARD   KING  1874-1875 

FRANCIS   BRINLEY  1875-1882 

JAMES  E.  MAURAN  1882-1883 

HENRY   E.  TURNER  1883-1886 

LEROY   KING  1886—1895 

HENRY  G.  MARQUAND  1895-1902 

ARTHUR   B.  EMMONS  1902—1909 

DANIEL   B.  FEARING  1909—1913 

J.  FRED   PIERSON  1913—1916 

RODERICK  TERRY  1916— 


48 


LIBRARIANS 


EDWARD   SCOTT  1747-1750 

THOMAS   MOFFATT  1750     1752 

MARTIN   HOWARD,  jun.  1752-1755 

JEREMIAH   LEAMING  1755-1756 

EZRA  STILES  1756     1764 

HENRY   MARCHANT  1764—1766 

EDWARD  THURSTON,  jun.  1766-1767 

THOMAS  WICKHAM,  jun.  1767-1768 

EZRA  STILES  1768—1777 

WILLIAM   TILLINGHAST  1777—1778 

GEORGE   BISSETT  1778-1779 

WILLIAM  TILLINGHAST  1779—1785 

CHRISTOPHER   ELLERY  1785—1791 

WILLIAM   SMITH  1791  —  1792 

WILLIAM   PATTEN  1792-1809 

LEVI  TOWER  1809—1811 

JOHN   RODMAN  1811-1812 

ROBERT   ROGERS  1812-1831 

GEORGE   G.  KING  1831—1835 

WILLIAM   A.  BARBER  1835     1841 

JAMES   BARKER  1841      1848 

AUGUSTUS   BUSH  1848-1857 

GEORGE   R.  HAMMETT  1857—1858 

DUMONT  CLARKE  1858     1859 

BENJAMIN   H.  RHOADES  1859     1880 

BENJAMIN   F.  THURSTON  1880-1884 

RICHARD   BLISS  1884— 19 1 4 

GEORGE   LYMAN   HINCKLEY  1914— 


49 


OFFICERS 

OF  THE 

Redwood  Library  and  Athenaeum 
1922-1923 

PRESIDENT 

RODERICK   TERRY 

VICE  PRESIDENT 

J.  FRED   PIERSON 

DIRECTORS 

DARIUS   BAKER  ALFRED   G.  LANGLEY 

MRS.  HAROLD   BROWN  WILLIAM   P.  SHEFFIELD,  Jr. 

WILLIAM    P.  BUFFUM  EDWARD   A.  SHERMAN 

GEORGE   F.  COZZENS  WILLIAM    S.  SHERMAN 

LUCILE   R.  EDGAR  AGNES   C.  STORER 

Mrs.  CHARLES   C.  GARDNER  FRANK   K.  STURGIS 

LAWRENCE   L.  GILLESPIE  HAMILTON   FISH    WEBSTER 

HENRY   BARTON  JACOBS  JOSEPH    H.   WILLARD 

SECRETARY 

ALFRED  G.  LANGLEY 

TREASURER 

EDWARD   A.  SHERMAN 

AUDITORS 

HERBERT   L.  DYER  JOHN   C.  SEABURY 

LIBRARY  STAFF 

GEORGE   L.  HINCKLEY,  Librarian 

ADA   E.  GOSLING,  Assistant 

ABBIE   L.  ALLEN,  Cataloguer 
KATHERINE   C.   FRIEND,                                                       Desk  Attendant 

ERNA   BRANDT,  Assistant 

HARRY   B.  RICE,  Janitor 


